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SHAUN QUADE

I wanted to cook from an early age, despite not having any role models who were adept in the kitchen amongst my family. I’m not sure why, cooking was just something I was drawn to.

High school was a necessary evil, I didn’t get much out of it. I’ve always been quite self-sufficient, and if there’s something I want to learn, I will take it upon myself to do so – I won’t wait to be taught. I find researching and learning something on my own a lot more satisfying.

PETER SEATON

I had a gravitation towards art from an early age. I did have an aptitude for it in school, though I never felt like I was the best at it – I tended to compare myself to people who were better than me. After high school, I did a diploma of fine art at Whitecliffe College of Art in Auckland.

After finishing my Diploma in Fine Art, I decided I wanted a pragmatic experience in something that I could easily make money doing. The Faculty of my art college eluded that the reality of making it in the art world was rather bleak. Continue reading →

JESS GABRIELLI

“I’ve learnt over the years that nothing should stop you from asking for what you want.”

I am an artist and a movement practitioner, primarily sharing my work through coaching in the field of strength and conditioning. Recently, I combined both these passions into a business called Foldenmove.

I grew up doing ballet and gymnastics, and perhaps through that I developed an interest in movement and fitness. At the same time, I loved art and that was my original direction. The subject I focused most on was always the human body; I was fascinated with ways that visually translated it, and my interest in human movement ended up feeding into it. Continue reading →

My path to law is a long journey. I came here thirteen years ago, aged 21.

I was born in South Sudan and my family became internally displaced during the civil war. We first moved to Ethiopia, and then to Kenya, where we lived for twelve years at the Kenyan Outback Refugee Camp of Kakuma. Eventually, we were accepted into Australia as refugees. So a total of 18 years of my whole life I was displaced as a refugee. Continue reading →

CANDICE TAN

“I think that lawyers, by nature, are incredibly driven. This can be a blessing and a curse.”

I am currently a Judge’s Associate at the Supreme Court of Victoria. Just a few months ago, I was a lawyer ‘in-between’ jobs.

As a child, I had always been interested in literature and the humanities. It was pretty usual to find me with my nose between a book, typically Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl. I progressed on to Jane Eyre at the ripe-young age of 11. How I dealt with the heavy content in that novel is anyone’s guess!

In terms of my background – I was born in Singapore and moved to Melbourne for high school at 12. My parents were set on giving me an all-rounded education (other than through rote learning) and Australia was the perfect choice. They valued education above all else, as they never had the opportunity to attend university themselves. Continue reading →

KAREN WONG

“I think of all the people I’ve helped in the last fifteen years to start a new life in Australia, and it brings me satisfaction.”

­I am an immigration lawyer and a businesswoman.

I started out wanting to be a doctor, but as a result of a serious illness, I changed my mind and decided upon law. However, I still had an interest in science, so I did a combined degree at Monash University – Bachelor of Science and Law. I thought that would lead my down the path of some science-related law work, like intellectual property.

But when I finished my degree, I found that as a newly admitted lawyer, the employment market was quite tough and I had to take whatever job was available to me at the time. I applied to a few places, and eventually got an offer through a recruitment agency to interview with a firm that was looking for a Chinese speaking lawyer. Continue reading →

NOAM GREENBERGER

“I think that philosophically people should understand the legal system that is governing them.”

I am a Practice Leader in the Disputes & Litigation team at LegalVision.

I wouldn’t say that I always knew that I would be a lawyer because that wouldn’t be true.

After finishing school, I went to Israel to study in a Jewish learning institution for a couple of years. I am Jewish, but having never seen the country, I was interested in finding out about it. I really enjoyed it, and studied Jewish texts and law while there. Continue reading →

VIRGINIA WARREN

“We’re a depressed lot, lawyers.”

I am a partner in a general legal practice on the Mornington Peninsula. I’m also a registered yoga teacher and a writer.

In my law practice, I primarily work in the areas of family law, commercial law, wills and estates. The work is varied and addresses the community needs. Working in a smaller practice, offers greater lifestyle benefits than that of our city colleagues.

I discovered yoga accidentally in the literal sense and I will now also say that I accidentally became a lawyer. Continue reading →

IAN FRECKELTON

“The life of a barrister is, and should be, a passionate and accountable life.”

I am a barrister, a Queen’s Counsel, working from Melbourne but doing cases throughout Australia. And ‘by night’ I am a Professorial Fellow of Law and Psychiatry – a Professor – at the University of Melbourne.

Two subjects that have fascinated me since the time I was at school have been law and medicine. When I studied at the University of Sydney in the late 1970s and 1980s, I did a combined Arts/Law degree. However, I decided to transfer to medicine at the end of first year, along with a good friend of mine. I was none too inspired by my first law subject.

All the arrangements were made, and then my friend was killed by a truck. Continue reading →

DONALD GORDON

“I recall a very interesting case where a funeral parlour was being operated from a home.”

I am a senior instructor and course leader for legal practice at Victoria University, director on a Victorian government board, law author and run my own law firm.

I was born in Fiji. My father grew up in a very poor rural farming community, he was very studious and bright, which saw him cross the ocean by boat to England, where he studied to be a lawyer through London University and the Middle Temple. He instilled in me the value of education and hard work.

Tragically my father passed away a few days before my tenth birthday in Fiji. Continue reading →